McKean succeeds Michael Shannon, who departed Our Town May 23. Understudy Robert Beitzel played the role in the interim.
Cromer (Adding Machine, Brighton Beach Memoirs, When the Rain Stops Falling) directed and originally starred as the Stage Manager in this new production of Thornton Wilder's classic play about small-town American life. The production premiered in Chicago prior to arriving Off-Broadway in February 2009, in a somewhat recast staging.
The producers gutted and reconfigured the Barrow Street Theatre in Greenwich Village to create an intimate space for this production. The seating is in a three-quarter arrangement, with some seats in the middle of the action. The actors are mostly in street clothes, with hints of costume. The house lights remain on during much of the three-act Pulitzer Prize-winning play.
Our Town won the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Production and Outstanding Direction and Obie Award for Outstanding Director.
The current cast of Our Town features Elizabeth Audley as Mrs. Soames, Robert Beitzel as Howie Newsome, Kati Brazda as Mrs. Webb, Will Brill as Joe Crowell, Jr, Nathan Dame as Sam Craig, Roger E. DeWitt as Joe Stoddard, Donna Jay Fulks as Mrs. Gibbs, Emma Galvin as Rebecca Gibbs, Jennifer Grace as Emily Webb, Wilbur Edwin Henry as Professor Willard, Mark Hattan as Constable Warren, Ben Livingston as Doc Gibbs, David Manis as Mr. Webb, Jonathan Mastro as Simon Stimson, James McMenamin as George Gibbs, Seamus Mulcahy as Wally Webb, Jason Yachanin as Si Crowell, with Robert Beitzel, Dana Jacks, Lynn Laurence, Kathleen Peirce, Keith Perry and Mark Shock. *
McKean has appeared on Broadway in The Homecoming, The Pajama Game, Hairspray, Accomplice and Off-Broadway in Second Hand Memory. His numerous screen appearances include "Laverne & Shirley," "Dream On," "This is Spinal Tap" (which he also co-wrote), "Clue," "Coneheads," "Best in Show," "A Mighty Wind," "For Your Consideration" and "Whatever Works." He earned an Academy Award nomination for co-authoring the song "Kiss at the End of the Rainbow" for the 2003 film "A Mighty Wind."
Our Town is produced by Scott Morfee, Jean Doumanian, Tom Wirtshafter, Ted Snowdon, Eagle Productions, Dena Hammerstein/Pam Pariseau, The Weinstein Company, and Burnt Umber Productions.
The performance schedule is Tuesday-Friday at 7:30 PM, Saturday at 2:30 PM & 7:30 PM, Sunday at 2:30 PM & 7:30 PM. Tickets are priced at $69 & $49.50 and are available through SmartTix (212) 868.4444, Smarttix, or at the Barrow Street Theatre box office (open at 1 PM daily). Student tickets at $20 are available on the day of performance only at the box office.
Barrow Street Theatre is located at 27 Barrow Street at Seventh Avenue South in the heart of Greenwich Village.
For more information, visit OurTownOff-Broadway.
